


Sincerely, Me

by TheWriterBreeG



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, F/M, Inspired by Love Simon, M/M, Multi, TW: Mild Homophobic language/comments, TW: Panic Attack description/mention, Teen and Up Rating for later chapters, Trigger warnings for later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2020-10-25 15:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20726828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWriterBreeG/pseuds/TheWriterBreeG
Summary: The one where Trini Gomez falls for the pretty girl(or so she assumes…she’s never met her mystery girl face to face but she writes like she’s pretty) that she met through Angel Grove Anonymous, the #1 source of gossip for Teens and Young Adults living in the small California town.Also the one where Trini Gomez attends the University of Brenwood California and ends up sharing a dorm with one Kimberly Hart, who also happens to have fallen for the pretty girl she met through Angel Grove Anonymous. Weird right?Essentially a Trimberly take on Love, Simon(minus the public outing and low key crappy friends) mixed with a little University/College AU because who doesn’t love a good University/College AU?!





	1. Prologue: The One With Aysa and Roa

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!  
This is the first Fanfic I've written in literal years so be gentle haha. I'm super excited to share this fic with you guys! It's been a work in progress since early this summer and after a spell of writers block that lasted way too long I'm finally ready to write. I'm hoping to post at least weekly but we'll have to see how things go. I'll also be posting chapters on my Tumblr too which is linked at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

**PROLOGUE: THE ONE WITH AYSA AND ROA**

_ **4 Months Earlier…** _

_ **April 26th, 2017** _

It all starts with a simple notification.

It’s no different from any other school night for Trini. After yet another dinner is spent being grilled by her stepmom about her social life and June getting unnecessarily too worked up about it (the pregnancy hormones have made June even more worried and excitable than usual which Trini does her best to deal with but sometimes it really is too much and she ends up giving off a bit more attitude than intended) her dad, Eric, attempts to play peacekeeper between the two of them which helps the rest of dinner go by without incident.

It goes by awkwardly, but without incident.

Trini stays behind to help wash dishes and clean up the table with her dad and he gives her the usual

“You’ve really gotta throw her a bone sometime, sweetie. You know she’s just wanting to show you she cares and make sure you’re okay.”

Which Trini has to try her hardest not to roll her eyes at but she of course responds with a simple “I know,” and leaves it at that. They both know she's not going to divulge more information about her personal life than she's willing to, so there's no sense in pushing the subject any further. When it comes to sharing aspects of her personal life with June and her dad Trini is much more likely to share things with her dad since he asks in a way that sounds like it comes from a place of genuine curiosity and not from a place of wanting to make sure she isn't skipping school and murdering someone.

It isn't that she doesn't like June. In fact when June and Eric began dating shortly after her parents divorced when she was eight, Trini and June did get along pretty well. But as Trini grew older and entered her teenage years, her and June's relationship changed quite a bit. June seemed to become over-concerned that Trini was going to become one of those rebellious teenagers who snuck out, ran away from home, or got involved with the wrong group of people. Possibly all three. It got to the point where Trini felt like June was unnecessarily smothering her which is when she slowly became a bit more reserved, never giving June more than a short answer whenever she would ask about her day or her life in general. They _do_ still have those moments where they genuinely get along and enjoy spending time together, though as of lately those moments are few and far in between.

As she’s putting away the last few dishes, Trini hears her phone vibrate against the counter behind her. Given her small social circle(“always keep the social circle small, you’ll be gone in less than a year anyways, so what’s the point?” is her motto, the result of going back and forth from her dad and June wherever they happen to be living at the time then going to her mom in Washington) she knows it can only be one of three things: Zack texting her asking for APUSH notes since he had to skip school to take care of his mom that day, her mom texting her to check in like she did every day around dinner time, OR just another random notification that can easily wait until she’s done.

Not giving her phone much more thought, she finishes helping with the dishes then makes her way to her bedroom. Partially so she can get some homework done, partially because she knows she’ll be left alone if she’s in there.

She finally gets a chance to check her phone and as predicted, it’s a notification from Twitter.

_ **AngelGroveAnon Tweeted** _ **: ** _Confession #5632 from @IAmAysa on Twitter: https://t.co/nGS4Jsbgsl6_

Angel Grove Anonymous…Trini’s latest guilty pleasure.

She blames Zack for her addiction to the gossip blog honestly. One day they’re sitting in English class and she hears someone mention “AGA” a few desks away. It clearly gets Zack’s attention since he attempts to eavesdrop on the conversation almost instantly.

“What the heck is AGA?” Trini asks him.

“Angel Grove Anonymous. You never heard of it?” Zack asks. Trini shakes her head. As far as school gossip is concerned Trini couldn't be less interested for the most part. Since moving to Angel Grove at the beginning of the school year she doesn't pay attention to anyone else much, save for Zack who pretty much weaseled his way into her life the first month of school and eventually became one of the very few friends she made. Other than that, Trini keeps quiet and to herself at school, and she likes it that way.

“Dude, it’s like...the coolest thing ever. People just anonymously spill their guts on this blog for everyone to read and you just gotta take your best guess as to who it is,” he tells her.

“You should check it out.”

So she does. That day after picking up her brothers from school as usual and making a snack for the three of them when they get home she starts looking through the blog and slowly finds herself scrolling from one post to another, and another, and another. Even when her dad and June get home almost an hour later she's still scrolling on her phone trying to get through all of the confessions she has missed.

She spends the rest of her evening scrolling through the blog and reading the various posts that has every type of confession from “I’m pretty sure I found the person I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with” to “I really messed up and I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for it.” The confessions are a mixture of funny and sweet and heartbreaking which leaves Trini unable to stop reading even when her eyes are fighting to close. That night She ends up falling asleep in the midst of reading a particular lengthy confession someone had posted about crushing on their best friend and not knowing what to do about it.

Since then, Trini finds herself regularly checking the blog to see what insane secrets and confessions the residents of Angel Grove have for her that day whenever she has a free moment. And if she's not reading the blog itself she's usually discussing the latest posts with Zack trying to figure out who in school may have posted which confession. It's a guilty pleasure she would deny if anyone else were to ask about it, but she can't help but find the blog incredibly addicting. She's even considered sending in a confession or two herself but even anonymously spilling your guts takes a lot more nerve than she ever realized.

She swipes up on the notification which brings her to the blog’s twitter that she’s been following since she was introduced to the blog. She clicks the link attached to the tweet and she’s brought to the newest post on the gossip site:

_Angel Grove has been “home” my entire life. But lately it’s started to feel less and less like “home” to me. I want to say this feeling kind of just happened, but really it all started because I did a shitty thing to someone who put their trust in me and part of me just feels like I don't belong here anymore. Since apologizing and trying to own up to my mistakes didn’t work, running away in hopes of a fresh start seems like the next best option. _

_I decided to choose a University far away because of that, and I’ve never been more confident in my decision. I think a fresh start is what I need. I need to be around people who(hopefully) don’t know me. I need to be in a place where my past doesn’t define me and I can work towards being a better person without people assuming I have ulterior motives or that I'm being "fake" about it. I want to be in a new place where I can work on myself and do better this time around. Be the person I know I can be instead of the crappy person I feel I’ve become. And from what I’ve heard University is pretty good for that kind of thing. I also can’t help but think that maybe I don’t deserve a second chance, and maybe this will all be for nothing..._

_Counting down the days until graduation and getting the hell out of here- @IAmAysa on Twitter _

Reading the confession, Trini can’t help but feel a little for whoever this Aysa is. She also can’t help but feel like she can relate, even just a little bit. One of the main reasons she’s so okay with moving back and forth between her mom to her dad and June, who pretty much move to a new place every few years thanks to June's job, is because it means a new fresh start, which she always enjoys. It means never getting bored of the same place, never getting too attached to people making it easy to say goodbye, and it means her parents never asking about relationships(romantic ones anyways) since she never stays in one place long enough for her to begin one.

Which in turn means she has yet to find a reason to tell her parents she’s gay.

It didn’t come as much of a shock to her when the revelation hit her at thirteen. In fact, it made a lot of sense. When other girls her age were going crazy over the cutest boy in class, she found herself more focused on the cute girls, when the girls in class were gushing about how cute the boys of One Direction were she could not have been less interested, and there was that brief period of time where she had a big crush on Hayley Williams but claimed she only liked her because “she’s just a really talented performer!”

Sure, Little Trini, that was totally it.

She figures since there's no reason to say anything, it's best to just keep it to herself for now. The only person she's "out" to at this point is Zack, and that's because he kept trying to make moves on her when she first moved to Angel Grove and it was the only way she could get him to stop. Admittedly she was worried that he would completely stop talking to her or out her either by accident or on purpose when she first came out to him but to her surprise he completely respected her and ever since they've been friends, _best friends _Trini would even dare say if she felt bold enough to use those words. 

Out of curiosity Trini decides to click on the twitter profile linked to the confession and right off the bat Trini is intrigued by whoever this Aysa is.

_No, my name isn’t ACTUALLY Aysa. If I used my real name what would be the point in trying to stay anonymous? _ Reads their twitter bio. Trini can’t help but smirk in amusement at the sass radiating from the bio alone. She then starts scrolling through the various tweets “Aysa” has posted.

_**@IAmAysa:** Yeah if I could just go one (1) day without being reminded of #That shitty thing I did that would be great..._

_**@IAmAysa:** 72 days until Graduation...I can make it_

_**@IAmAysa:** I skip class ONE time(this week) and of course Mrs. Corcoran has to catch me…Guess I need to find another hiding spot._

_**@IAmAysa:** Nothing like the threat of last minute deadlines to make you more productive than you've been in weeks all before 8 in the morning._

_@**IAmAysa: **Really could just...get in a car, leave, and never look back right about now._

_**@IAmAysa:** You know what? I’ll say it, today was a shit day and I’m probably going to end the day in a shitty mood but the good thing is that tomorrow is a new day…_

The more tweets Trini reads, the more she’s drawn to whoever this Aysa is and the more she wants to know who they are. Part of her wants to reach out to Aysa about her confession on Angel Grove Anonymous but she fears it may be overstepping given she’s never talked to Aysa, as far as she knows. So instead, she tries to busy herself with homework to try and forget about Aysa and her confession.

It doesn’t work.

She gets 500 words into her essay for English before Aysa and her confession pop back into her head. She makes it another 350 words written before she finds herself back at Aysa’s twitter with her finger hovering over the “follow” button.

She almost does it, but then she hesitates.

Instead she logs out of her main twitter account and begins making a new, anonymous account. She figures whoever this Aysa is has the right idea about staying anonymous, so she decides to follow suit. It takes her a few minutes to think of a decent alias that doesn’t sound either too cheesy or obvious. She decides on Roa, a name she came across in a book she read once and actually became quite fond of. After setting up her account she finds a few more accounts to follow so it _doesn't _look like she just made the account to follow one person, then she finds her way back to Aysa’s profile and finally hits “follow”.

It takes a minute before she gets the nerve to do it, but eventually she begins typing.

_Hi,_

_I saw your confession on Angel Grove Anonymous. I Hope this isn’t overstepping at all but just wanted to say I totally agree that if you’re wanting a new start, choosing a school away from here is the best choice you could make. As a serial mover thanks to my stepmom’s job and my parents splitting up and living a million miles apart I can attest to the fact that fresh starts are great and hopefully it’ll be great for you too. I don’t know what exactly happened in your situation but I really hope it works out._

The message feels a little unfinished to Trini, but she still somehow gathers the nerve to press send once she’s read it over at least five times. There’s nothing left to do now but wait.

No reply comes before Trini falls asleep for the night.

***~*~*~***

When Trini wakes up the next morning at 6:15am to her alarm blaring loudly, the last thing she expects is notifications telling her she not only has a reply from Aysa, but that she's also followed her back. Yet somehow, that’s exactly what she sees once her eyes have adjusted to the blinding light of her phone screen.

_**Aysa: **Hey! Don’t worry, it’s overstepping at all. It’s actually really nice to finally hear that I made the right decision from someone else other than my sister. She's basically been telling me to run away from here and never look back since I started applying to schools away from Angel Grove. My parents aren’t exactly thrilled I’m moving “so far away” aka a whole 4 hour drive, but they’re coming around. I think they’re just worried that I’ll love the freedom too much and will never want to come home again like my sister who just sends them “hey, I’m alive!” texts since she moved to Arizona. I’m the lucky one, she actually FaceTimes me at least once a week but I’m also not the one constantly bugging her to move back here._

Trini reads the message several times over as she makes her way to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. As she thinks of her reply she doesn’t even hear her brothers fighting their dad about not wanting to school that day, she just barely takes notice of June talking about how relieved she is that her maternity leave starts in just two days, and she almost becomes so distracted that her breakfast sandwich nearly burns.

All she’s concentrated on is her reply.

_**Roa: **Yeah my dad and stepmom aren’t exactly thrilled I chose a school away from here either since they're hoping to be in Angel Grove for at least 3-4 years but I think if I chose a school any closer they would drive me nuts and come check on me daily to make sure I was breathing properly,getting 3 well balanced meals a day, and having enough social interaction. At least with a couple hours drive between us I’m hoping they’ll ease up a little but I’m not gonna hold my breath. If anything they'll resort to hourly texts and possibly send out a search team if I don't reply right away. My mom is another story she's always been the "go out and experience the world!" type so I'm sure she'd be wanting me to go to a University in a whole other country if she had it her way. And maybe your sister has the right idea. Running away and never looking back DOES have a certain appeal to it…_

Trini hits send yet again with no nerves or hesitation this time, and no idea of the chain of events about to unfold.


	2. Chapter 1: The One Where They're Roommates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
Thank you guys SO incredibly much for the kudos and comments on the prologue! It's so great to see how excited you guys are about this fic and how much you guys are liking it. I forgot to mention last chapter I'll be throwing in some Easter Eggs in certain chapters and there's at least one in the last chapter and at least one in this chapter so leave a comment if you think you know what the Easter Eggs are!  
This chapter is definitely one of the longer things(if not THEE longest thing) I've written so I hope you enjoy it! I've decided new chapters will be up on Mondays but I'll let you know on my Twitter or Tumblr (both will always be linked at the end of the chapter) if that's going to change.  
Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 1: THE ONE WHERE THEY’RE ROOMMATES **

_ **4 Months Later…** _

_ **August 18th, 2017** _

Trini looks at her room and for the first time in almost ever, the sight of an empty and packed up room makes her a little sad.

It’s not as though it’s a sight she’s unfamiliar with. If anything it’s the opposite. She’s seen more empty, packed up rooms than she can keep count of and has taped up so many packing boxes she could probably do it in her sleep no problem. But there’s something about the fact that this time she’s going to be on her own when she moves away and she won’t have anyone but Zack and whichever other friends she makes along the way with her that makes it sting just a little more than usual.

It also doesn’t help that her parents and siblings stay in Angel Grove and she’s heading off to campus with Zack alone. Her family wants to join her but with Alex and Matteo not exactly being the best with long car rides(Matteo still laughs about the time he got incredibly car sick on their way to Texas to visit family 2 years earlier. Everyone else doesn’t find it quite as funny) and the newest addition, her 3 month old baby sister Talia, still being so young and just getting out of her colic stage, they all figured it would be best for Trini to head off on her own and they say their goodbyes at home.

As she’s putting some final things in boxes, her phone starts going off on her bed. When she looks at her phone screen she sees it’s a FaceTime call from her mom, Diana. Trini quickly grabs the phone and swipes to answer the call.

“Hey,” Trini answers with a smile. She hasn’t had a FaceTime call with her mom in almost a week so even if she’s supposed to be packing she decides a small break is warranted in this situation.

“Hey baby girl, all packed up and ready to go?” Diana asks.

“Ready as I’m gonna be I guess,” Trini confirms. 

“Just packing the last few things and Zack should be here in a bit so we can get going.”

“Okay I won’t keep you long then. I just wanted to talk to you and wish you good luck before you left.” Diana tells her.

Trini lays down on her bed as she and her mom keep talking and on the corner of the screen Diana can see Trini’s beloved teddy bear, Benny, laying across one of the pillows. Benny was probably the only toy from her childhood that Trini had insisted on keeping throughout the years. Trini had made Benny at Build a Bear Workshop for her 5th birthday and rarely went anywhere without him when she was little. 

“Awe you haven’t packed Benny yet? You’re not leaving him behind are you?” Diana teases and Trini’s cheeks turn a light shade of pink as she moves Benny out of view of the camera. In reality she was waiting until the last minute to pack him but she hadn’t gotten to it yet on account of her mom calling(she had also had him beside her the night before but she’d never admit to that). 

“Oh dang it sounds like Zack’s here I gotta go,” Trini quickly comes up with an excuse to end the call so she’s no longer questioned about Benny but of course Diana only laughs knowing she’s done her job as Trini’s mother and embarrassed her daughter.

“You’re a terrible liar. But I’ll let you go and finish packing. Text me when you get to campus,” Diana tells her.

“I will. Love you.” Trini tells her.

“Love you too little one, talk to you later.”

Trini ends the call and puts her phone into her back pocket as she gets back to packing her things, the first of which being Benny. One of the biggest drawbacks to her parents being split up is that she always misses out on seeing one or the other for an extended period of time. And with her mom living all the way in Washington D.C the time difference was also a factor. She pretty much considers her mom her best friend and the one she always goes to if anything was bothering her or she needs some solid advice so having her so far away really does suck some days. Like today for example when she’d love to have her living closer so she could be there to see her off to University. She would see her during the winter holidays though, so for now Trini decides that’s enough.

She’s in the middle of taking one last look at her room and making sure she hasn’t forgotten anything when her phone goes off yet again. It’s a text from Zack. She unlocks her phone to read the text and she’s greeted with a picture of Regina George and her line “Get in loser we’re going shopping” but instead Zack has edited the picture to say “Get in loser we’re going to Uni”. Trini holds back a laugh as she types out a reply telling him she’ll be down stairs shortly.

“Trini, Zack’s here!” Eric calls up from the bottom of the stairs before Trini can even finish writing out her reply to Zack.

“Coming!” Trini calls back. Once she’s certain everything is all packed up and ready to go, she heads downstairs with one of the boxes Zack offered to take for her in his truck, since her car is already crammed with what she can fit in it. 

When she gets downstairs she finds Zack in the livingroom talking about something with her brothers and wearing his matching “If Lost Return Me To My BFF” shirt to Trini’s “I’m The BFF (Please Keep Him)” shirt that she’s wearing underneath her yellow and black flannel. It’s possibly the dorkiest thing Trini has ever taken part of in her life. Zack gave her the shirts as a gag gift for her birthday the month before and when she opened it she jokingly suggested that they wear them the day they headed off to University. She didn’t expect him to take her so seriously, but of course the night before she had gotten texts from Zack reminding her to wear the shirt and at that point she knew there was no going back. Worse case scenario, she can button up her flannel and no one has to see it. 

“Glad to see you’re wearing the proper attire,” Zack jokes taking notice of Trini’s shirt with a smirk. Trini just rolls her eyes and tries her best to fight off a slight smile but fails.

“Whatever, homeboy, there’s three smaller boxes upstairs by my bedroom door,” She tells him before heading outside to drop off the box into Zack’s truck. 

It only takes a few minutes to load the few boxes into the back of Zack’s truck and as they walk into the house Trini actually feels her heart sting just a bit knowing she’s going to have to say goodbye to everyone until Thanksgiving.

When she walks back in the house Eric, June, Alex, and Matteo are all in the living room ready for the goodbyes that are about to come. The only one unphased by the situation is Talia, who is too busy being fascinated with the toy in her hands to realize what’s going on as June holds on to her. 

“Okay, guess we’re gonna get going,” Trini says. She makes her way over to the twins and brings them both into a hug. 

“You two stay out of trouble, alright? I won’t be gone forever and I’m sure Mami and Papi will tell me if you two get out of hand. Don’t forget I can easily come back here for the day to kick your butts. I’m not that far away” Trini smiles as she hugs her brothers tight. Alex holds onto her a little longer and a little tighter than Matteo, which doesn’t surprise Trini at all. Her and Alex have always been incredibly close since he was born and he hadn’t exactly been handling the idea of Trini leaving very well as of late. She had given him countless talks about how she would be back for visits but those talks only helped him so much.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Alex says not wanting to let go of his older sister. 

“I’m gonna miss you too but I’ll be home again before you know it,” Trini assures him. After Alex finally lets Trini go she looks over at her baby sister who is currently squirming in June’s arms, finally not distracted by her toy and giving Trini a look of confusion that melts Trini’s heart instantly. She had to admit she was unsure of how she’d feel about having a sibling with such a large age gap between them, especially since she knew she was going to be heading off to University shortly after Talia was born and wouldn’t be around much. But once Talia was born none of that really seemed to matter. That was her sister and she would protect her just as fiercely as she would protect Alex and Matteo.

“And you…”Trini tickles Talia’s belly emitting a small smile from the 3 month old. 

“You hold down the fort while I’m gone okay? Alex and Matteo maybe older than you but us Gomez girls run this joint. Remember that.” Talia only offers her older sister coos and a drooly, gummy smile in return which makes Trini’s eyes slightly brim with tears, if only for a moment before she composes herself. She does have a reputation to maintain after all. Plus with Zack standing right there she knows he’ll very well use this moment against her if it gets any worse. 

“Call us the moment you need us or if anything is wrong or you need something or—” June begins her ramble as Trini hugs her, only to be stopped by Eric before she can go any further. 

“I think she gets it, honey,” Eric tells his wife hoping to stop her ramble before he can’t get her to stop. Trini breaks her hug from June and she can feel the tears wanting to come again as she goes to hug her dad.

“Let us know when you get there kiddo,” Eric smiles and hugs his daughter tight.

“I will,” Trini assures him.

“And have fun! But not too much fun,” Eric teases trying to lighten the mood just a bit. After one final hug for everyone, Trini gets into her car and following close behind Zack in his truck the two head off on their 4 hour drive to the University of Brenwood, California, their home for at least the next 4 years. 

As she drives further and further away from Angel Grove, the more free Trini feels. She shakes off the tears and slight ache in her heart over having to leave and instead she blasts her music and thinks about how, for the first time in her life, she’ll be free to be who she wants to be. She doesn’t have to worry about fitting into one specific mold or worry about who approves of the friends she makes, what she wears, what music she listens to, or any other choice she wants to make. She feels like in a way she can finally breathe for the first time in a long time and she wants to bask in that feeling as much as she can. 

Over the 4 hour long drive they only stop for a break once, mostly because Zack claims he’s getting hungry and can’t wait the hour they have left to drive before they make it to campus. They settle for a gas station they pass along the way and just grab whatever looks decent and get back on the road. While they’re stopped at the gas station Trini checks her phone and sees she has unread texts from her parents.

_**Momma:** Hope there wasn’t too many tears when you left. Let me know when you get to campus safe xoxo_

_**Papi:** Hope the drive isn’t too long and boring. Text us when you can so we know you’re safe_

_**June:** Drive safe and let us know when you get to campus :) _

Trini writes out her reply as Zack is getting his things and attempting to flirt with the cashier while doing so.

Just stopped at a gas station to fill up and get some food. Should be on campus in about an hour, maybe a little more xoxo Trini copies and pastes the message to all of them as she grabs one more bag of Hot Cheetos before heading up to the till. Zack is already back in his truck and ready to go by the time Trini is finished and they quickly get back on the road for the last hour of their trip. 

When they pull up to campus an hour later it’s even bigger and more lively than Trini remembered from the university tour she and her classmates did almost a year earlier. There are what seems like hundreds of students already all over campus either moving into dorms or talking to others they knew from years previous(or so Trini assumed). 

It’s exciting and nerve wracking and overwhelming in the best way.

It takes much longer than anticipated but eventually both Trini and Zack manage to find a parking spot near where they’re supposed to check in. 

“Okay looks like they have us sign by building...which dorm are you in again?” Trini asks once her and Zack start making their way over to the tables to sign in.

“Reida….you?” Zack asks.

“DiCaela,” Trini replies.

“Okay you sign in over there at that table and I”m all the way over there at that table,” Trini tells him pointing out the tables they both have to go to.

“Wanna just meet back here once we’re done?” 

“Sounds good to me,” Zack tells her.

“Okay don’t get lost!” Trini tells him as they part ways.

“And you don’t get trampled like mufasa in the stampede! You’re small enough, it could happen!” Zack fires back. Trini doesn’t even offer a reply as she makes her way over to the table where a fairly attractive blonde woman a few years older than Trini is sitting helping other students move in. 

“Hey! Welcome! Checking in to dorms?” the blonde asks Trini once she finally gets to the front of the table. Trini gives her a nod as she pulls out her paperwork and wallet from her backpack.

“Okay can I get your name and some ID?”

“Trinity Gomez,” Trini replies, slightly cringing at having to use her full first name which she had never really been a fan of.

“I go by Trini though.”

“Well I’m Clarke, one of the R.A’s here. I also help out at the Pride Lounge on campus,” Clarke tells her. 

“There’s a pride lounge here?!” Trini asks with a smile and probably a little too much excitement as she hands Clarke her ID. Clarke chuckles at her enthusiasm causing Trini to blush just a little. 

“Yeah for sure! We’re still setting up our schedule for the year so look out for us in the quad next week at the club fair,” Clarke tells her.

“It’s in Building 235 right beside the cafeteria. Our first meeting will probably be in about 2 weeks.”

“Looking forward to it,” Trini smiles. Yeah, she’s definitely going to like it here.

“Great! Okay, back to business, just give me a second and I’ll find your key for you,” Clarke tells her as she starts looking through the clipboard in front of her. 

“Oh! You’re in the DiCaela Building with me! Looks like I’ll be your R.A this year,” Clarke tells her with a smile. She grabs a set of keys and hands them over to Trini.

“You’re in dorm 324 on the first floor. If y-”

“Clarke!” Trini hears someone call from behind her and Clarke seems to stop mid sentence and look over right away at whoever is calling her. A slender looking brunette comes up to the table and Clarke’s smile only gets bigger as the brunette gets closer.Trini has to admit whoever this woman is, she’s incredibly beautiful.

“I’m running to The Ground to get a frozen lemonade, do you want anything?” the brunette asks. 

“Nah, I’m good, babe. Thank you though,” Clarke tells her.

“Okay just figured I would check before I went there,” the brunette comes closer and gives Clarke a quick kiss which totally takes Trini by surprise, and she doesn’t hide this fact well either. Clarke catches Trini’s surprised expression and tries to hold back her laugh. 

“Lex, this is Trini. She’s gonna be in DiCaela with us. Trini, this is my girlfriend Lexa.” Clarke introduces the two and Lexa gives Trini a smile.

“Nice to meet you Trini,” Lexa holds out her hand for Trini to shake, which Trini does.

“Nice to meet you too,” Trini replies.

“If you need help bringing your stuff in Trini, there’s some rolling bins for your stuff just over there,” Clarke points over to the large white bins just off to the side near the parking lot.

“And DiCaela is just behind us right beside the Vanlei building.” 

“Okay, great. Thanks!” Trini says before taking off towards her car where Zack is already waiting for her.

“Took you long enough!” Zack exclaims as Trini walks over to him. Trini just rolls her eyes in return.

“Alright I’m gonna go and try to find my dorm. Mind helping me bring some stuff in?” Trini asks.

“I’ll help you too and pay you in Pizza tonight or tomorrow.”

“You had me at pizza,” Zack tells her.

“Okay it’s dorm 324 in DiCaela Building over there,” Trini tells him pointing out the building before grabbing one of the boxes from her car.

“Got it! I’ll go grab your boxes from my truck first and meet you there,” Zack tells her.

Trini makes her way over to the building with one of her heavier boxes, hoping it won’t take long to find her dorm room. Unfortunately, the task proves to be a bit more difficult than she first anticipated. 

“Okay where the heck is 324?” Trini mumbles to herself walking down the hallway and looking at each of the doors trying to find her designated dorm room. She knew she had to be getting close since she was getting into the 300’s but with some of the doors wide open while students moved in their things it’s hard to tell how much further she has to go.

Finally after walking for what feels like forever, she finds her dorm room, the door wide open thanks to whoever she is going to be rooming with for the next 8 months. 

There are a million things Trini expected from walking into her dorm room for the first time. A million scenarios ran through her head for months of how she’d feel and how she would want to celebrate her newfound freedom the moment she stepped into her first dorm room and got that next taste of being on her own and free to do whatever she pleased...

What she didn’t expect, was thee Kimberly Hart standing on one of the beds in their dorm room, wearing only a pair of denim shorts and tank top while putting up a Paramore poster as “All The Things She Said” by T.A.T.U played from somewhere in the room.

Kim doesn’t hear her come in at all since her back is turned to Trini the entire time, but Trini could see her side profile when she walked in the room and she knows it’s definitely Kim. She had seen the former cheerleader in the halls of Angel Grove High countless times and even with her now much shorter hair style than the last time Trini saw her, Kim’s presence is unmistakable. Trini is standing there with what can only be described as a “deer in the headlights” look mixed with a Gay Panic and she’s fairly certain her brain has forgotten how to function at this point. 

“YO T! where do y-”

Zack sneaks up behind Trini in an attempt to scare her and it works just a little too well. When Trini whips around and lets out a shriek she ends up losing grip of the box in her hands and before she can even really register what’s going on, the box ends up landing on Zack’s foot. Kim also whips around at the commotion going on behind her and jumps off the bed to help when she sees the look of pain immediately wash over Zack’s face.

“Shit I’m so sorry!” Trini exclaims as Zack gets the box off his foot. Trini can see Kim making her way over to them from the corner of her eye but she does her best to just concentrate on her friend and the fact she just dropped a goddamn box on his foot because of Kimberly goddamn Hart.

“Dude what the hell is in that box?!” Zack asks limping over to Trini’s bed so he can sit down and assess the damage. Thankfully nothing seems to be broken but he knows he definitely needs to take a minute to rest and put his foot up.

“You okay? Should I go get someone or…” Kim asks catching Trini and Zack’s attention.

“Nah I’m fine...just need a second,” Zack assures her. Kim looks over at Trini and the two lock eyes for the first time since Trini made her less-than-grand entrance.

“Hi,” Kim says trying to switch focus and let Zack take his moment to recover.

“Hi,” Trini barely manages to get out.

“Trini right? We had English together?” Kim asks. Trini’s slightly surprised Kim remembers her, so she doesn’t fault her too much when she gets the last detail wrong.

“Biology, actually,” Trini corrects her. 

“But yeah. I’m Trini.” The two shake hands and keep eye contact for probably a little too long before Kim finally breaks it.

“Uh need help moving stuff in? You know, now that your assistant is probably out of commission for a bit?” Kim offers looking over at Zack who is currently laying on Trini’s bed elevating his hurt foot.

“Yeah that’d be great,” Trini replies.

“You sure you don’t need anything homeboy?” Trini turns around and asks Zack. He just waves them off as he lays on the bed, not even looking at the two girls before Trini shows kim the way to her car.

“Sorry I didn’t make a better first impression. Second impression? I promise you won’t be getting a box dropped on your foot too,” Trini says earning a laugh from Kim.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Kim laughs. 

“How early did you get here? Looked like you made yourself at home already,” Trini asks. When Trini finally took a moment to look around the dorm before they left she noticed Kim had almost all of her things unpacked already, or so it seemed.

“Oh I got here first thing this morning.” Kim replies.

“I’ve pretty much been counting down the days until I got to leave since my acceptance letter came in a few months ago. Angel Grove is nice and all but it was definitely time for some change.” 

The words sound vaguely familiar to Trini but she doesn’t give it much thought. At this point she’s more concentrated on making sure she doesn’t drop any more boxes on people’s feet.

They get to Trini’s car and when Trini opens the trunk she hands Kim the first bag of things she can get ahold of as well as a smaller box. 

“Cute bear,” Kim compliments as Trini grabs her box of clothes. Trini turns around to see what Kim is talking about and to her horror she realizes that she somehow managed to hand Kim the bag she had put Benny in earlier that morning before she left.

“Thanks,” Trini barely mumbles out, blush coating her cheeks. She closes her trunk for the time being and the two of them make their way back to the dorm, making small talk as they go.

As they walk and talk Trini can tell there’s definitely something different about Kim from the last time she saw her. The last time Trini even caught a glimpse of Kimberly Hart was the day of graduation almost 2 months ago...

** _2 Months Earlier_ **

** _June 3rd, 2017_ **

_“And now we present to you...the Angel Grove High School graduating class of 2017!” _

_As the class makes their entrance they are met with thunderous applause from everyone in attendance. Trini can see her parents and siblings in the audience and she tries her best to keep her expression neutral but she can’t help the small smile that comes to her face at the sight of her brothers overly excited cheering for her and trying to get her attention. When she’s close enough to see them more clearly she gives them a little wave which they seem to get even more excited over, and takes her seat with her classmates._

_Throughout the ceremony Trini does her best to pay attention but after the 3rd speaker it all kind of feels like white noise. She makes sure to clap when she needs to, smile when everyone else seems to be smiling, anything that will make it seem like she’s still somewhat paying attention. After what seems like a lifetime they finally get to the part of the ceremony where they give out the diplomas. _

_“....Trinity Graciela Gomez,” the principal calls She goes up to get her diploma and of course her parents have made their way to the front of the stage so they can take as many pictures as they can while Trini holds her smile for as long as she can. The crowd applauds one more time and Trini is finally able to make her way back to her seat. She’d never been one for being up in front of large crowds so to her the sooner this whole graduation business is over, the better. _

_“...Kimberly Ann Hart” The principal calls out not much later. The crowd applauds and Kim gracefully makes her way across the stage to accept her diploma. There’s a way that Kim carries herself that has intrigued Trini since the day she arrived at Angel Grove High, but interacting with someone like someone like Kimberly Hart, practically the top rung of Angel Grove High’s social ladder, was laughable at best. Kim poses with their principal as her mom, dad, and one older girl who Trini has never seen before take picture after picture before the audience begins to applaud again signaling it’s time for the next student to be called up. Kim walks past Trini with that same grace and confidence and after that, the rest of the ceremony just blends together in one big blur…_

Kim still has that same confidence about her that she did the last time Trini saw her, but there’s definitely something different about her now. It’s almost like Kim had a weight of some kind lifted off her shoulders, a feeling Trini can relate to all too well. She doesn’t bring it up at all, she just leaves it be and the girls continue their small talk as they drop off the things in their dorm and go back for more.

The girls spend the next twenty minutes grabbing things from Trini’s car and bringing them back into the dorm. By the time they’re finished Zack has moved from the bed to the chair by Trini’s desk, looking a bit better than he did before.

“Thanks again for the help,” Trini says as Kim puts the last of Trini’s boxes down by her bed. 

“No problem. Thank you for not dropping a box on my foot,” Kim replies. 

“You’re welcome. Alright home boy let’s go get your stuff. I think I owe you at least that much,” trini tells Zack. 

“Yeah you do,” Zack mumbles getting up from the chair.

“I’ll be back later,” Trini says and Kim goes back to hanging up the various posters and pictures she brought with her. Trini gets momentarily distracted yet again when Kim turns on her music and goes back to having T.A.T.U blasting through the dorm. Trini even almost runs into the door frame as they leave but Zack seems to save her from yet another moment of embarrassment before Kim has a chance to notice.

“Could you have been any more of a mess back there?” Zack teases as they walk out of the building and towards Zack’s dorm.

“Oh shut up!” Trini says, blush yet again creeping up on her cheeks.

“You took me by surprise that was your fault!"

“You were dead ass checking Kim out several times...your fault,” Zack tells her.

“...I hate you,” Trini tells him, failing to come up with a decent come back. Zack gets ready to say something else when Trini’s phone goes off in her back pocket, this time it’s a notification from twitter. Specifically Aysa.

_**Aysa:** Not sure how your first day at Uni is going (hopefully well!) but I’m already considering calling it a night even though I still have a million other things to do. I spent most of the morning unpacking boxes and I JUST got done. As a self proclaimed serial mover you could’ve let this newbie know unpacking was tiring as hell!_

Trini can’t help the smile that creeps onto her face as she reads the message. As she starts typing out her reply she can see Zack giving her a questioning look from the corner of her eye.

_**Roa:** Haha my bad, should’ve given you a heads up that unpacking a million boxes is about as fun as pulling teeth. Be thankful it’s just a rooms worth of boxes and not an entire house. That’s about as fun as a root canal. My first day has actually gone pretty well, a bit of a long day but can’t really complain. Just finished unloading all my stuff into my dorm so I’ve still got some unpacking to do myself. You help me with mine and I help you with yours? I’ll pay you in pizza or whatever other food you may like that can be easily delivered_

“Let me take a wild guess...message from your mystery girl?” Zack asks. Trini gives him a playful glare in response. It took her about a week to finally tell Zack about Aysa once the two of them had started talking almost daily. She didn’t want to say anything to him, or anyone really, in case nothing really came of reaching out to Aysa but once he caught her in the midst of typing out a reply to Aysa one day and asked who she was talking to, she decided to finally tell him about how she and Aysa started talking to one another. Ever since then, it was almost like Zack made it part of his daily routine to tease Trini about how close she and Aysa had become and trying to convince her to make a move on her mystery girl.

“So what if it is?” Trini quips. 

“Dude, c’mon, you’ve been messaging her practically every day for months now and you haven’t even tried to make a move!” Zack exclaims.

“What gives?! You clearly like her and from what you’ve told me she seems to like you too. You should just...go for it.”

“I don’t wanna push it! Plus I don’t even know if I like her like that. It’s just nice having someone else to talk to besides your annoying ass,” Trini says. One of those statements is a bold faced lie, but she’s not going to let Zack know that. 

“Okay, that one hurt,T,” Zack says holding his hand over his heart with a feigned hurt expression on his face. Trini gives Zack a playful shove in return knowing he’s just putting on an act. 

“Do you even have a clue who she could be yet?” 

“Not really…” Trini sheepishly admits. She’s pondered over Aysa’s true identity more than she’s willing to admit, but even months later she has yet to figure out who Aysa could actually be. And she’s not even totally sure when or if she’ll ever know who Aysa actually is. The subject has ever come up between them, so until it does Trini figures it’s best to leave it be.

“But it’s not like I’ve really asked her either. Both of us are pretty okay just staying anonymous for now. It would be nice to eventually know who she is but I don’t think either of us are ready to reveal ourselves just yet.”

“Fair enough. You do know though that eventually that conversation is gonna have to happen,” Zack points out. 

“It’s not like you can avoid it forever.”

“I know but until then we’re just gonna leave it and enjoy...whatever it is right now.” 

They get to Zack’s truck and spend the next 45 minutes unloading his things into his dorm. Unlike Trini, Zack opted to get a dorm to himself so it’s smaller than Trini and Kim’s dorm, but still pretty spacious for one person. Once all of his things are unloaded and Trini orders the Pizza she promised Zack they make plans to run to the store together the next day so they can grab the necessities they need, and Trini heads back to her dorm. When Trini gets back she opens the door and finds it surprisingly quiet. Kim isn’t anywhere to be seen but there is a note on the whiteboard hanging on the back of the door scrawled in Kim’s writing.

_ **Hey Trini** _

_ **Had to go meet with the soccer team. I’ll be back around 7** _

_ **-Kim** _

_ **P.S let’s trade numbers when I get back ** _

Trini still has all of her unpacking to do so she decides to get down to it and get it done. At this point unpacking is pretty much second nature to her so she knows it’ll take no time at all, but that doesn’t make it any more enjoyable. The first thing she puts up on the wall is the pride flag she bought not long ago, and she can’t help the smile that finds itself on her face.

Yeah. She’s definitely gonna like it here.

_ ***~*~*~*** _

Kim makes her way to the sports field and keeps hoping she doesn’t get lost along the way. She’s never been the best at directions and so far she’s already had to stop 3 people to ask them if she’s heading in the right direction. She didn’t remember the campus being so big, or so difficult to navigate the last time she had been there.

“Finally!” Kim exclaims seeing the field not too far off as well as what she can only assume are other people on the field. She makes it there in just a few minutes and indeed there’s already a small crowd gathered and talking amongst each other waiting for the coach to arrive.

Kim makes her way onto the field and tries to find a place to situate herself while they wait. As she’s about to sit on a nearby bench to put on her shin guards and cleats, she hears a voice cut through the group.

“Kim?!” 

She hears her name but for a moment she can’t quite place the voice. It sounds familiar, but no faces come to mind right away. Kim looks over to where the voice seems to be coming from and there’s one of her old friends, Sutton, who she met at Soccer camp years ago and unfortunately fell out of touch with.

“OH MY GOD!” Kim exclaims and runs over to Sutton who is running just as fast towards Kim. The girls embrace as they meet halfway, catching the attention of almost everyone else there.

“What the hell I had no idea you were gonna be here!” Sutton exclaims, moving the chunk of her now blonde hair that had ended up right in front of her face when her and Kim broke their hug. It was much different from the short brunette bob Sutton had the last time they saw each other, but Kim couldn’t deny the blonde suited her well.

“How have you been?”

“Good! Been crazy busy moving into dorms today but can’t complain,” Kim replies.

“How about you?”

“Babe, Coach is here,” one of the girls comes over and cuts Kim and Sutton’s conversation short. Kim is taken aback just a bit by the use of the pet name which doesn’t go unnoticed by Sutton.

“Kim, this is Blake,” Sutton says.

“Babe this is Kim, I used to kick her ass every day of soccer camp a couple years ago.”

“Oh please! Clearly someone is forgetting when they ate the field after they wiped out running down the field during our final game that summer,” Kim scoffs.

“Girls! Attention please!” the coach calls out before Sutton can say anything. The three girls end up sitting together during the meeting as the coach goes over their game schedule and the general practice schedule for the season. They also end up running a few drills and playing a small game before the coach lets them go for the night.

“So since it’s been forever and a half wanna grab coffee or something and catch up tomorrow?” Sutton asks as she, Blake, and Kim walk back towards dorms together. 

“There’s a pretty decent coffee place on campus.” 

“Yeah for sure,” Kim replies taking out her phone and handing it to Sutton so they can trade numbers.

“Just text me when you’re free.”

They part ways and when Kim gets back to her dorm the first thing she notices is that Trini is still in the midst of unpacking her things.

The second thing she notices is the pride flag hanging loud and proud by Trini’s bed and the bear she complimented earlier propped up neatly by Trini’s pillow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! Next chapter coming Monday unless something comes up!
> 
> [Follow Me on Twitter](https://twitter.com/TrimberlyLSAU)
> 
> [Follow Me on Tumblr](https://trimberlylsau.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter 2: The One With The Very First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
SO long time, no post. I wish I had a better excuse but really when it comes down to it, life and writers block got in the way. I think I wrote this chapter over at least 3 different times and this is the happiest I've been with it. So I hope y'all are happy with it as well!  
Also a question for you readers, I've created some social media posts for this AU so I was wondering if y'all would be interested in seeing those on my tumblr(always linked at the end of each chapter). Let me know!

**CHAPTER 2: THE ONE WITH THE VERY FIRST DAY **

To Trini’s pleasant surprise, her and Kim get along incredibly well, and for whatever reason Kim shows genuine interest in getting to know her better.

It’s a foregin feeling to Trini for sure. Having been “the new girl” for so long she’s used to keeping to herself and not letting many people in or people even trying to get to know her. Yet here is Kimberly Hart, the very girl who used to have the students of Angel Grove High parting like the Red Sea when she walked the halls, actually wanting to get to know her and it’s an incredibly new and almost awkward feeling to Trini. It’s not an unwelcome feeling, but having spent so much time not being all that open with others it’s hard for her to feel comfortable at first but over the first few days Trini finds herself being more open to the idea of letting someone else in besides Zack. University is a chance at a new beginning, and if there's ever a time to put yourself out there, she figures university is definitely it.

So her and Kim talk about anything and everything as they spend the weekend making their new dorm feel a little more home-y together. Kim talks about her family and soccer and her photography(something which Trini never would’ve guessed as one of Kim’s hobbies), while Trini talks about the places she’s moved to with her parents as well as her love of music and the instruments she’s taught herself how to play over the years. It’s a small start to opening up to the other girl, but Kim doesn’t seem to force Trini into saying more than she wants to which Trini most definitely appreciates. 

The first day of classes arrives a few days after the girls move into their dorm and Kim’s alarm is the first to go off that morning around 7:30am. Surprisingly from what she can see Trini doesn’t stir a bit from the noise and continues to quietly snore and remain completely asleep even after the alarm is turned off. Kim tip-toes out of bed and into the their bathroom to get ready to head out to grab some coffee from The Ground, the best place on campus to get coffee from what she's been told. Most mornings she could do without it, but it’s the first official day of classes and a caramel macchiato with a blueberry muffin to celebrate the occasion actually sounds pretty appealing.

She quickly washes her face and changes into a pair of leggings, a shirt, and her UBC hoodie (which she feels she probably paid way too much for) and quietly makes her way out the door, careful not to wake her still sleeping roommate. Wanting to be nice she sends Trini a quick text as she’s leaving and hopes Trini's phone is on vibrate so it doesn't wake her up.

** _Kim: _ ** _ Morning! Ran over to The Ground for breakfast and coffee. If you’re up before I get back let me know if I can get you anything. My treat. _

The walk over to the ground isn’t all that long but it definitely helps Kim feel a bit more alive and alert. On her way she gets “good luck on your first day!” Texts from her mom and dad, as well as a “Good luck and don’t screw up!” Text from her older sister. She knows Sabrina is joking, it’s just how the two of them communicate and show their affection, but she still sends her a middle finger emoji in return as well as a thank you. 

The Ground is fairly quiet and empty when Kim arrives, which comes as no surprise. The only people there are the ones who most likely chose 8:30am classes and are searching for that extra pick-me-up before they have to rush to class. As she’s waiting in line behind who she can only assume is another freshman that is most likely regretting her choice of picking an 8:30am class Kim gets a reply from Trini. 

** _Trini: _ ** _ Morning! An Iced Americano with cream and some of their bacon and Gouda egg bites if they have them? _

She quickly types out a reply noticing the person in front of her is almost done ordering their drink which means her turn is coming up quickly.

** _Kim: _ ** _ She’s alive! Iced Americano with cream and egg bites coming up! I’ll be back in about 10-15 mins _

Kim makes it to the front of the line and gives her order to the much too chipper barista. While she’s waiting for her order Kim skims through Twitter and Instagram, almost clicking on her conversation with Roa and she debates sending her a message until the barista calls out her name. With her hands now full of coffee and breakfast for her and Trini, the thought of messaging Roa completely escapes her mind. She carefully carries the drinks and food back to the dorm and by now campus has gotten a little more lively with other students heading off to their classes. 

“Hello?” Kim calls out when she gets back to the dorm and notices Trini is nowhere to be seen and the room is as quiet as it was when she left,maybe even more so.

“Hello?” She tries again.

“In here!” Trini calls out from their bathroom. “I’ll be out in a sec.”

Kim places the drink and egg bites onto Trini’s desk before turning on the TV and picking a random show on Netflix that she’s already watched before so she doesn’t have to pay much attention to it as she packs her bag for her two classes of the day. Trini comes out of the bathroom a few moments later, not looking entirely awake but slowly getting there.

“Your coffee and egg bites are on your desk,” Kim tells her gesturing over to the items in question on Trini’s desk. Trini’s eyes light up at the sight and she makes her way over to the desk and quickly takes a large sip of her coffee.

“Thank you. I know you said it was your treat but I can pay you back if you want,” Trini says, feeling a little guilty taking advantage of Kim’s kindness.

“No, it’s fine,” Kim insists with a smile, which Trini returns.

“Fine. But next time coffee is on me,” Trini says, the tone in her voice playful yet serious which makes Kim slightly chuckle with amusement. 

“What time did you want to walk over to Brodeur building?” Kim asks throwing the last of her things into her backpack. When they had shared their schedules with each other a few days earlier they found out they actually shared their first class of the day on Mondays so they figured it would only make sense for them to walk over together.

“9:30? It’s not too far from here I saw it like two minutes away when Zack and I went to the bookstore on Saturday,” Trini replies between sips of her coffee. It’s barely 8:30 at that point and she needs some extra time to get ready and feel a little more alert before their 10:00am class. After finishing her coffee and breakfast Trini finally gets dressed for the day, picking a pair of grey skinny jeans along with a black tank and teal flannel to go over top of the tank to pair with her trusty black converse. It’s a fairly simple look but she figures it will do. As she’s getting ready she also gets good luck texts from her parents and a text from Zack.

** _Papi: _ ** _ Best of luck today, kiddo. Let us know how it goes when you can _

** _Momma: _ ** _ Good luck on your first day of classes little one! So proud of you and can’t wait to hear all about your first day! _

** _June: _ ** _ Good luck with your first class(es) today Trini! Let us know how they go :) _

** _Home Boy Zee Tee: _ ** _ First day of classes, Crazy Girl! Good luck! Also let’s hang out later today or tomorrow since I haven’t seen you in a while and I’m somewhat afraid your new roomie may have replaced me as your best friend. _

Trini sends replies to her parents thanking her for the good luck wishes and she tells Zack they should definitely hang out soon. She also lets him know that Kim has not replaced him as her best friend since they’ve only been roommates for four days and that it would take at least five or six days for Kim to truly replace him. She gets a (rightfully deserved) middle finger emoji in return.

Before either of the girls know it, it’s already almost 9:30 and they start to make their way over to Brodeur Building for their first class of the day. By now campus is absolutely flooded with students either on their way to class, catching up with people they hadn’t gotten to see since school ended back in April, or waiting in the line up for the book store which by this hour the line has already stretched to outside the building.

It takes the girls a few minutes and several wrong turns in the hallways to finally reach their classroom once they find Brodeur Building and when they get into the classroom they find what seems like a majority of their class has already arrived. The room is filled with desks that have wheels on the bottom so they are able to be moved around the classroom and by this point the only free desks are the cluster of desks rolled into one of the back corners of the class in one big heap. The girls each pick one and roll the desks closer to where everyone else is situated so they’re not sitting so far away.

“I swear this is like...bumper desks or something,” Trini comments putting her backpack in the small compartment at the bottom of the desk which she presumes is for putting things like backpacks and jackets so they’re not in the way. While Trini and Kim are in the midst of a conversation about their next classes of the day a short-ish blonde woman walks into the class, a stack of papers in her hands and a messenger style bag hanging off her shoulder. She places all of her things on the desk at the front of the class and after organizing her things she grabs the black marker on the ledge of the whiteboard.

“Hello, everyone and welcome to CREW 120, Introduction to Nonfiction Writing. I’m Erica Mendly and I will be your professor for this class.” the woman introduces herself as she writes her name on the whiteboard while the class quiets down and faces her. 

“So let me just do attendance quickly first and after that we’ll do a quick ice breaker and then we’ll move on to our first in-class writing piece before we go over the syllabus and each of the assignments and that should bring us to the end of class time,” Erica says, writing each thing down on the board as she goes. Attendance goes by incredibly slow thanks to Erica having all twenty five students in the class each say their name, what program their in, what brought them to creative writing, and an interesting fact about themselves, so by the time that is done almost twenty minutes has already gone by and they’re finally ready to move on to the ice breaker.

“So for our ice breaker we’re going to play Two Truths and a Lie in small groups. Has anyone not played that before?” Erica asks A few peoples hands go up.

“Okay so with Two Truths and a Lie for those who haven’t played it before, on a piece of paper or whatever you’ve brought with you to write with, you’re going to write down two truths about yourself, and one lie about yourself. Then once you’re done I’m going to break you all into groups of three or four and each person in your group is going to read off what they’ve written, and the others have to guess which of those three things is the lie. Everyone understand?” a chorus of “yes” and “yeah” echoes across the classroom.

“Good. Now everyone take out a piece of paper or whatever you’ve brought with you to write with and I’m going to give you about two or three minutes to think of your two truths and a lie once I see everyone is ready to start.”

Trini tries to think of an incredibly creative lie but despite her best efforts nothing juicy comes to mind. Unlike Kim beside her who seems to be having no trouble at all finding things to write down and is writing so fast she actually finishes before time is called. With only a minute left to come up with something, Trini scribbles down the first things that she can think of and calls it good.

“Annnnd time is up,” Erica calls out. Since they’re sitting close to one another Trini and Kim end up in the same group along with a girl named Amber and a boy named Cole, both of whom seem nice enough and fairly friendly as they all introduce themselves.

“Anyone wanna go first?” Cole asks once the group gets situated into somewhat of a circle together. 

“Why the hell not, I’ll go first,” Kim volunteers after a few moments of silence in the group.

“So first, I wanted to go skydiving for my eighth birthday and cried for two hours and ignored my parents for three days when they told me I was too young,” Kim reads off, her expression neutral but still amused when she earns a chuckle from everyone in her group.

“Second, last summer I lied to my parents and told them I was going to hang out with my friends when really I snuck out to LA for the day to go to Pride for the very first time,” Kim continues. This in particular catches Trini’s attention and deep down she’s hoping it’s not Kim’s lie.

“And third, I ran away from home to my aunt’s house a few blocks away when I was 5 after my parents got mad at my sister and I for fighting,” Kim finishes. The group takes a moment to contemplate each of the three things they just heard and Trini decides to be the first to guess.

“I’ll say two,” Trini replies. It’s not that she believes that’s the lie, she just wants to see Kim’s reaction to her guess, and to Trini’s surprise Kim remains fairly neutral.

“I’m gonna guess three,” Amber says

“Yeah I’ll go with three too,” Cole agrees.

“Yeah it was three,” Kim finally breaks and laughs.

“I _ did _have my bag packed and almost made it to the front door but my sister caught me as I was heading downstairs and told on me, which only made us fight even more than we already were.” 

“I guess I’ll go next,” Trini says once the group has quieted down after she and the rest of the group get a good kick out Kim’s confession, the nerves hitting just a bit as all their eyes are suddenly on her.

“My first one is that my family doesn’t trust me in the kitchen at all since the time I tried to make sugar cookies with my mom and burned them so bad they were basically charcoal,” Trini follows Kim’s lead and tries to remain a neutral expression as to not give anything away. 

“Second, one night on our class camping trip when I was twelve, one of my friends and I pretended to be bears and scared the girls in the tent beside ours,” Trini continues, getting amused looks and slight chuckles from her group mates.

“And third is my childhood celebrity crush was Hayley Williams from Paramore,” Trini finishes. Again the group takes a moment to contemplate and this time Cole is the first to speak up.

“I’ll say two is the lie,” he guesses.

“I’m gonna say two as well,” Kim adds.

“Yeah I’ll say two,” Amber finishes.

“It’s one,” Trini reveals, earning some surprised looks from her group mates.

“I’m actually pretty decent in the kitchen if I do say so myself.”

“And as far as the ‘pretending to be bears’ thing?” Cole asks.

“Oh we totally got ratted out by someone who saw us and got in a ton of shit for it,” Trini replies with a laugh, the rest of the group cracking up with her. 

Erica calls time just as Amber is finishing her turn and the class is asked to come back together in a circle, which proves to be a lot easier said than done as everyone maneuvers their desks into somewhat of a circle.

“Now moving on to our first in-class writing piece I wanted to give you all about 15 or so minutes to take your first stab at Non-Fiction writing and write about…” Erica trails off as she picks up the marker from the ledge of the board again and writes out **_My funniest childhood memory _**on the board.

“Your funniest childhood memory. It can be something you remember specifically or a story from your childhood that you’ve heard from a family member, family friend, or anyone really. Anything goes! So just take a moment to get some ideas and I’ll let you know when to start,” Erica explains. Trini begins to think and so many moments come to mind that she doesn’t even know which to choose from. She contemplates between several choices and when Erica finally gives them the okay to start, Trini just starts writing and lets her brain choose which to write about.

** _ My funniest childhood memory is actually one that not many people know about as far as I know. When I was about seven years old and in second grade, I was living with my mom in Washington DC for the school year and one of her friends happened to work at my school. Now this particular friend, whenever they saw me, would always ask me “so Trini, do you have a boyfriend?”, to which I would roll my eyes and tell them “No! I don’t have a boyfriend!”. Each time they asked I got a bit more aggressive with my answer because it just became so repetitive and annoying to me. I didn’t get why they kept asking me that question, I was only seven why would I have a boyfriend?! So this particular day I was walking the halls and saw my mom’s friend walking down the hall just before lunch time and they noticed me from a distance. I thought I would be smart and beat them to the punch before they got a chance to ask me that question I hated so much, so before they even had a chance to say my name or anything else, I exclaimed as loud as I could right in the middle of the hallway… _ **

** _ “I don’t have a GIRLFRIEND!” _ **

** _ It took a few seconds for me to register what I had just said and by that time this friend of my mom’s was already getting a good laugh in as my cheeks got redder and redder. I tried to correct myself but at that point it was no use. _ **

** _ My mom never brought it up so I’ve always assumed she never heard about that particular incident from her friend. I think I consider it my funniest childhood memory because to this day I still consider that my every first Freudian slip, and also because I definitely don’t blame my younger self for being THAT upset over not having a girlfriend. _ **

“Annnnd time is up,” Erica calls yet again and she waits for everyone to finish up what they are writing.

“Is there anyone who feels brave enough to share what they wrote about?”

The class stays silent until one of the guys, Emeron, volunteers and tells the class his story of how when he was around nine years old he wrote a swear word in mud on one of his family’s canoe paddles while they were camping in an attempt to get his younger brother in trouble. The plan would have worked if his brother wasn’t four at time and if he actually knew how to spell or knew that particular swear word meant. The rest of the class gets a good laugh out of Emeron’s story and it gives a few other students the courage to share what they wrote before Erica lets the class out for a fifteen minute break. 

The rest of class after their break goes by painfully slow. Once everyone is back from the break Erica begins going over the syllabus and upcoming assignments and the whole time Trini and Kim exchange looks of “Can she hurry up already?!”. Eventually Kim writes something down on a piece of paper and while Erica has her back turned she places the paper on Trini’s desk.

** _Look behind us. Dude has legit nodded off._ **

Trini looks behind them and indeed one of the people in their class looks like he’s fallen asleep with his head on the desk. Trini tries not to laugh or draw attention to whoever it is that is now taking a nap while Erica tells them about one of their future assignments and Trini discreetly writes out her reply hoping not to get caught.

** _Oh my GOD haha. I mean this is going by slow but damn didn’t think it was going by THAT slow._ **

Trini waits for Erica’s back to be turned again before she passes the paper back to Kim who lets out a little chuckle when she reads what Trini has written. They continue passing the paper back and forth, mostly talking about when they think class will finally end and their ideas for the assignments Erica mentions, there’s also a point where Kim asks Trini’s opinion on whether she thinks the girl sitting a few seats away from them is hot or not which nearly makes Trini choke on the sip of water she’s taking from her water bottle at the time. Before Trini gets a chance to recover and write out her reply Erica begins explaining their upcoming homework.

“Now for your first bit of homework I want you to write a letter to your younger teenage self. Think back to when you were around twelve or thirteen and what you would want them to know if you had the ability to go back and tell them what you know now. Try and keep it to no more than two pages but make sure it’s at least one page, double spaced. I’ll be setting some time aside at the beginning of class for anyone who wants to share what they wrote with the class but just know it isn’t necessary if you’re not comfortable. Everyone understand? Any questions?” Erica asks. The class stays silent.

“Alright well if no one has any questions I think that’s it for today and I will see you next week,” Erica dismisses the class and no sooner has she finished her sentence the whole class is up and grabbing their things so they can head out.

“Are you heading back to the dorm?” Trini asks slinging her backpack over her shoulder more than ready to head out the door. She has a good hour and a half before her next class so she figures she'll head back to the dorm and drop off some of the things she no longer needs.

“No I’m grabbing lunch with Jason and Billy then heading to my next class and I have a meeting right after that,” Kim says. 

"But I'll see you later?" 

“Yeah for sure,“ Trini replies and once they’re out of the building the girls part ways. Kim pulls out her phone to text Jason and let him know where she is but no sooner as she written out part of her message she hears a familiar voice calling out to her.

“Yo, Kim!” she hears Jason’s voice clear across the quad and manages to spot her almost instantly. 

“Hey! Billy isn’t coming?” Kim asks as she walks over to Jason. She had made sure to let Jason know Billy was more than welcome to join them but from what she could see Billy was nowhere in sight. 

“Nah he only had a small break between classes and still needed to get some of his books so he ran to the bookstore before the line got too long again,” Jason explains.

“So guess you’re stuck with just me.”

“Damn this is going to be torture then,” Kim jokes earning a playful shove from Jason in return while they walk into the cafeteria.

The two of them had been close since before Kim could even remember. Their moms were best friends in both high school and college so when they both fell pregnant around the same time they were determined their children would have that same tight friendship they had. From the moment they were old enough Kim and Jason spent so much of their childhood playing together and doing various activities together it was almost like they were brother and sister and just happened to live in different homes. Jason was fiercely protective of Kim, and vice versa. That’s how it always had been and as far as they were concerned, that's how it always would be, even if they had their squabbles and disagreements from time to time.

“So how is roommate life treating you? Wannna kill each other yet?” Jason asks jokingly as they scan the food selection for something decent to eat. 

“Not bad actually. Trini was definitely a little shy at first but the last day or two has been pretty good,” Kim replies. As she’s looking over the food choices she feels her phone buzz and she can’t help the slight grin on her face when she sees it’s a message from Roa. Jason doesn’t even have to ask who the message is from once the grin comes across Kim's face. He's been seeing that grin on her face for several months now and he knows that specific grin is reserved for whoever this Roa person is.

** _Roa: _ ** _ Hope your first day is going decently, fellow freshman! Just got out of my first class which was going pretty okay until the prof made reading the syllabus turn into a total snore fest to the point where someone was legitimately napping at the back of the class by the end of it. _

As Kim writes out her reply a smug smirk comes across Jason’s face.

** _Aysa: _ ** _ Haha it’s going good. Same thing happened in my first class too! I don’t know how the prof made the class go from fun to literally putting people to sleep so quick but hey I managed to stay awake so I consider that a victory haha. I’ve still got another class today so I’m hoping that’ll be a bit more interesting and won’t make me want to take a nap. _

“And what about things with your mystery girl? Any clue who she could be yet?” Jason asks picking up a slice of pizza while Kim opts for one of the already made paninis . 

“No and I swear if you have another list of who you think it could be I will shred it right here and make it a topping on your pizza,” Kim replies. Ever since she told Jason about Roa not long after she and Roa had started talking Jason seemed almost more determined than her to figure out Roa’s true identity. Whenever the subject of Roa came up it seemed like Jason had another whole list of possible people Roa could be based on what Kim had told him, which made the soccer player very much regret telling her best friend anything about Roa some days. It wasn’t that Kim wasn’t curious as to who Roa could be, she most definitely was, but finding that information out wasn’t a top priority to her. She was just happy to have someone else to talk to who didn’t judge her past and didn’t have any preconceived notions of her based on her social standing at school or whatever the latest gossip about her was. To Roa she was just Aysa, and at the moment she liked it that way.

“C’mon, Kim, you’ve been talking with her for months now I don’t see how you haven’t made a move yet you obviously really like her,” The footballer exclaims after they’ve paid for their food and find a decent place to sit.

“Who says I haven’t tried?” Kim says, earning a look from Jason from across the table that gave away that he didn’t believe her. 

“Okay so maybe I haven’t made an actual move but I’ve _ wanted _ to! I think there’s been moments where both of us have wanted to but it’s...complicated. And from what she’s told me she’s not out to her family yet and I don’t want to put her in a position where she feels like she _ has _to come out to them because of me...I would feel awful knowing it was my fault if it didn’t go well for her.”

“They may take it just fine though. You’ve got a shot at someone who could very well be your dream girl, I really don’t think you should give that up so easily,” Jason points out. Kim bites her lip hesitantly. She knows Jason is making a fair point and that he’s only wanting the best for her, but she’s too stubborn to admit it and like hell she’d give him the satisfaction of being right so easily.

“I can’t. Not right now anyways,” Kim says.

“Down the road I may be more open to it but right now things are fine the way they are”.

Jason takes that as his cue to drop the subject and the two of them spend the rest of their lunch together talking about their classes and what their plans are for the rest of the week. Before either of them know it they have to run to their next classes of the day and they part ways promising to meet up again soon.

Kim’s next class is her photography class and to her relief the professor keeps things interesting the entire time they’re in class. She even finds out she shares the class with Blake and Sutton, which makes it even better. The three of them chat when they can and of course talk soccer which makes the class practically fly by without any of them even realizing it.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Trini. Her next class is Intro to British Literature and her professor, though she’s sure he’s trying his best, makes the three hour class very much feel like six. The only thing that makes the class somewhat bearable is one girl in the class, Tommi, who Trini gets paired up with for their ice breakers and she turns out to be pretty cool so they sit beside each other for the rest of the class and keep each other entertained when they feel things are getting too dull. If not for Tommi, Trini is pretty sure she would’ve fallen asleep in class by the time their second hour was done. 

When the clock finally strikes 5:20 and the professor lets them free Trini cannot get out of the room fast enough. She quickly grabs her things and after saying goodbye to Tommi she makes her way towards Paulson building, which she knows is a decent walk away for the meeting she as to go to for the trip to Europe she's going on in the spring. It's not for another half hour, but she figures it's better to be early than late.

The trip to Europe is something Trini has been looking forward to ever since she heard about it just before graduation. The trip is mainly to visit UBC’s sister schools in Barcelona, London, and Paris but there would also be some tours of historical areas of the cities as well according to Dana, the woman Trini had talked to when she was seeing if freshman were able to sign up for the trip. What sealed the deal for her was the fact her birthday fell on one of the days of the trip so when she saw that, she knew she had to see if going was a possibility. By a stroke of luck the trip _ was _open to freshman and after some pleading with her parents Trini had gotten them to agree to help her pay for the trip as part of her graduation and very early birthday presents. She knows it’s going to feel odd not spending her birthday with her family like she usually does, but the idea of spending her birthday abroad is pretty exciting, and more than makes up for the fact she’ll be away from her family that day.

When Trini gets to the class there is only a handful of people there, all of whom she doesn’t know, so she takes a seat at one of the tables and scrolls through her phone as she waits. She first checks Twitter for any reply from Aysa but the check mark beside her last message is still clear, so Aysa hadn’t even gotten a chance to read it yet. She then moves on to checking Instagram and her concentration is only broken when a familiar voice catches her by surprise.

“Well, we meet again,” Kim’s voice causes Trini to jump slightly and her head to snap up to see where Kim was standing.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Kim chuckles slightly, feeling bad for scaring he roommate. She takes the seat beside Trini and puts her stuff down at her feet.

“It’s okay. Guess I zoned out a bit,” Trini says with a slight blush on her cheeks.

“So how was your second class?” Kim asks. Trini goes on about her prof almost making the whole class fall asleep and how she had almost been the one to fall asleep in class had it not been for Tommi. By the time Trini finishes her recap two women, one who Trini guesses is in her mid-to-late thirties and one who she guesses is in her early twenties, come into the room and situate themselves at the front of the classroom. 

“Hey everyone! Thank you for coming.” the older of the two women says catching the room’s attention almost instantly.

“So today’s meeting for the Europe trip in March is basically just to give you more of an idea of what we’ll be doing during our time there and what the expectations will be. We’ll probably be meeting around once a month just to keep everyone updated and we should have a first draft of the itinerary ready for you by the next meeting in a few weeks. Also I know it’s still a little early to think about it but we do want to get an idea of room assignments so if you do have an idea of who you’d prefer to room with please let us know as soon as you can.” 

“Roommate?” Kimberly whispers to Trini. Trini looks at Kim and nods in agreement. 

“So just a quick introduction, I’m Dana Houghlin and I’m an English professor here at UBC and I’m one of the two profs in charge of organizing this trip. The other prof is Sean Bates who is also part of the English department but unfortunately he was unable to make it today so he’ll be introducing himself to you at our next meeting in a few weeks,” Dana continues.

“And I’m Raven and I’ll be helping Dana and Sean out with organizing and planning the trip and I’ll also be joining you guys as well. I spent a semester abroad at our sister school in Barcelona my second year which we’ll actually be visiting on the trip so if you have any questions about either the school in Barcelona or just doing a semester abroad in general I can most definitely try and answer them for you,” the younger brunette says.

“So as most of you know one of the main parts of this trip is going to see our sister schools in London, Paris, and Barcelona to see what programs they offer and what your options are if you’re interested in doing a semester abroad at any point while you’re here. But of course we’ll also be doing some sight seeing and you’ll have one day in each city to explore on your own and do as you like…”

The meeting goes by fairly quickly from then on. They’re only there for about fourty-five minutes and most of the information Trini has already known for a while from emailing Dana back in April when she found out about the trip. She still takes notes though and there is some additional information she finds helpful. When they’re finally free to go Trini and Kim head back to their dorm together.

“I didn’t know you were going on the Europe trip too,” Trini says as they walk back to their dorm.

“Yeah it was kind of a last minute decision actually. I decided to do it during my ‘I wanna leave Angel Grove right NOW’ phase a few months ago. The idea of doing a semester abroad at some point sounded pretty cool so I figured why the hell not and decided to sign up at the last possible second," Kim explains.

"What about you, what made you wanna sign up?”

“I mean I’m not 100% sold on the idea of studying abroad just yet but I’m open to it so that’s one reason. And the fact I’d be traveling and seeing new places and all that is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time which is why I like..begged my parents to help me pay for the trip as my graduation present,” Trini explains. 

"My birthday is also during the trip so I thought it would be pretty damn cool to say I spent my first birthday away from home in Europe."

“Well at least we’ll be able to see some cool ass places together. And who knows, maybe we’ll end up rooming together during a semester abroad too one day,” Kim jokes making Trini chuckle. The girls make it back to their dorm and decide to finally just relax after almost going nonstop for a majority of the day.

For the rest of the night, Kim and Trini focus on their homework or other things on their to-do lists while episodes of Wynonna Earp and whatever other show they feel like listening to play on the TV in the background. Feeling a burst of inspiration Kim decides to tackle their assignment for their Non-Fiction class and while barely even trying the words flow onto the page.

** _ Dear 13 year old Kim, _ **

** _ Hi from the future! Currently writing to you from your dorm room at UBC on your first official day as a University freshman. Well, first day of classes anyway. You’ve been moved in for a few days now since getting out of Angel Grove as quickly as possible was your goal from the moment you started applying to Universities. It’s a scary change, but a change that is definitely necessary. And you’ve got a pretty cool roommate too so that’s always a plus. _ **

** _ Sorry, this is supposed to be about 13 year old Kim, not Kim right now. _ **

** _ Over this next 13th year of your life, you’re going to discover you’re bisexual. And it’s going to scare the ever loving crap out of you for countless reasons. I mean, having feelings for boys AND girls? That can’t be allowed right?! The answer is yes, yes it is, and the good thing is that it’s all going to be okay and your sexuality is completely 100% valid no matter what anyone else tries to tell you. You may not have the right words to describe your sexuality just yet, but it will come with time and educating yourself more. Same with mom and dad’s understanding of what it means to be bisexual. They may not understand or accept it right away and things do get rocky for a bit, but like I said it’s all going to be okay. _ **

** _ You’re also going to do something you’re going to regret. A lot. You’re going to get a crush on someone (your best friend no less because apparently that’s just a right of passage for most non-straight girls) and lash out and break her trust in a few years when things don’t work out and she makes you feel weird for having those kind of feelings for her when she doesn’t feel the same way. It’s going to be messy and you’ll feel like absolute crap for it once you finally realize how wrong it was, but the important thing is that you learn from your mistakes. I wish I could go back in time and stop you from doing it at all, but unfortunately time travel is not something we yet possess. And please don’t try to blame others for what you did because you don’t want to face the consequences of what you’ve done. Not only does it not solve anything, it doesn’t make you feel any better either. You did a shitty thing, it doesn’t make you a shitty person. And that doesn’t just apply to this situation, it can apply to several other questionable decisions you make along the way but it’s just easier to use this particular situation as an example. Just try and do better than you did yesterday, and be the good person everyone knows you’re capable of being. _ **

  
  


** _ Rooting for you, Kid _ **

** _ 18 year old Kim _ **

  
  


** _*~*~*~*_ **

Over the next few days the routine is fairly similar: Get up far too early for class, go to class, listen to the professor for three hours and move on to the next class if there is one. To Trini’s relief her other professors are actually rather entertaining and make the classes enjoyable, so she figures as long as she has Tommi to help her get through her English class, she’ll do alright.

That Friday afternoon Trini and Zack meet up in the commons of Trini and Kim’s dorm building after Zack’s class lets out so they can finally catch up after almost a week without seeing each other. They’re sitting beside each other on the sofa closest to the window overlooking the rest of campus and Zack is in the midst of telling Trini the latest happenings from his class the day before.

“I swear dude she was like...100% flirting with me!” Zack exclaims, telling Trini about a girl in his media studies class who he’s convinced was flirting with him while Trini on the other hand remains unconvinced. 

“Dude she was _ not _flirting with you, sounds like she was just asking for a pen,” Trini says rolling her eyes. She loved Zack but he was very much prone to making mountains out of molehills when it came to girls he thought were interested in him.

“Then why did she ask when there was a pen right on the desk beside her?” Zack asks, thinking he’s made his point.

“Maybe she didn’t notice it?” Trini suggests. Zack goes to rebuttal but Trini’s concentration is soon on her phone as it buzzes in the pocket of her hoodie.

** _Kim: _ ** _ Guess who is suffering through their own version of Preston as we speak. If I don’t come back to the dorm by 6 assume I died of boredom in the back of the classroom and my body is still at the desk I'm currently sitting in. _

“Another message from mystery girl?” Zack asks as Trini lets out a laugh from the message, usually a tell-tale sign to Zack that Trini's gotten another message from Aysa.

“No, Kim. She’s in class right now and I guess she’s suffering through a boring prof like I did on Monday” Trini explains. She types out a reply and the smile on her face doesn’t go unnoticed by Zack.

** _Trini: _ ** _ Haha at least let me know which building and room # so I know where to go and identify your body. Or would you prefer I leave that to Jason? _

“Dude you are so crushing on her,” Zack says with a smirk as Trini finishes typing out her message and puts her phone back into the pocket of her hoodie.

“What? No I’m not,” Trini says far too quickly for it to be even remotely convincing to her best friend. Zack gives her a questioning look and Trini gives him what is supposed to be a playful glare in return, hoping it will be enough for him to drop the subject. 

“I’m not. It’s barely been a week and we’re just getting to know each other.”

“_ Just _ starting to get to know each other? Dude it took me _ months _to get you to open up to me like you have with Kim in the span of a week,” Zack points out. Trini wants to argue but she can’t deny Zack is telling the truth. 

“C’mon admit it, you’ve got at least a little bit of a crush on her.”

Trini stays silent and tries to figure out a new point of conversation but just her luck, her mind goes completely blank.

“That’s what I thought,” Zack says smugly, earning a whack across the back of the head from Trini. 

“Hey!” He exclaims, rubbing the back of his head.

“You started it,” Trini says. Zack tries to give her a glare but Trini only sticks out her tongue at him and Zack can no longer make his glare convincing.

“I’ve gotta get going. I wanna finish my homework for Monday’s class before tomorrow and I haven’t even started it yet,” Zack says grabbing his backpack and getting up from the couch to avoid yet another smack across the head from Trini if he says another word about her and Kim.

“Okay I was gonna run to The Ground at some point anyways so I’ll walk with you,” Trini says grabbing her things as well. As the two of them are leaving the commons a poster on the wall catches their eyes.

** _UBC STUDENT UNION INVITES YOU TO JOIN US AT_ **

** _The UBC Welcome Back Fair_ **

** _Friday Sept 1st 2017_ **

** _4:00pm-8:30pm_ **

** _Events on the UBC Sports field as well as in the UBC gym_ **

** _Food vendors, games, fun activities and so much more!_ **

** _Hope to see you there! _ **

The poster is filled with pictures from the events of previous years and Trini can’t deny it actually looks pretty fun. 

“Wanna check it out?” Trini asks gesturing towards the poster.

“I could see if Kim wants to come too.”

“And leave me the third wheel? Nah I’m good,” Zack says. Trini just rolls her eyes in response.

“You wouldn’t be a third wheel. I’ll ask Kim if she wants to invite anyone to join us. She hangs out with Jason Scott and his boyfriend Billy maybe she’ll wanna invite them and we can go as a group.” Trini tells him.

“Okay if it’s a group thing then I guess I’m in, but if it’s just the two of you I’ll let you two go on your little date alone,” Zack replies.

“It won’t be a date...I’ll ask Kim if she’s interested and I’ll let you know,” Trini says taking a picture of the poster so she can send it to Kim. The two part ways once they’ve reached The Ground and by that point Trini gets a message back from Kim saying she’s all for checking out the Welcome Back Fair and will see if Jason and Billy are interested in joining them. 

After grabbing her coffee Trini decides to check out the club fair that Clarke had mentioned to her the week before. The quad is completely filled with tables upon tables from various clubs and organizations around campus, everything from music and dance clubs to science and comic book clubs. Of course which table would catch Trini’s attention than the Pride Center table, the rainbow banner and decor sticking out among the other tables. Not seeing any other booths that particularly catch her eye right away she heads over to the Pride Center table where Clarke and some other people who she assumes also help out at the Pride Center are talking to some students. As she gets to the table there’s a bunch of free pins and stickers for the taking, and of course Trini can’t help but snag a pin or two as well as a sticker. 

“Oh Hey, Trini!” Clarke greets with a smile once she’s finished talking to one of the other students who had stopped by the booth.

“How’s everything going so far?”

“Hey. Going good. Haven’t gotten lost yet so at least there’s that,” Trini tells her.

“That’s good. So you’re interested in checking out the Pride Center?” Clarke asks. Trini nods enthusiastically. 

“Okay so here’s a copy of our schedule of events,” Clarke hands her a piece of paper with a decently long list of events taking place over the school year along with several other pamphlets of information Clarke figures Trini will find useful.

“And starting next week we'll be having weekly meetings on Tuesdays from four until six for anyone who just wants to get together and chat. We have drop in times during the rest of the week too if Tuesday doesn't work."

"Awesome, I'll be there," Trini says with a smile.

"Great! If there's anyone else you think might wanna come let them know they're more than welcome," Clarke says. Trini takes another look around the table and eventually moves on to see what the other clubs have to offer. Her first week of university ends on as good a note as Trini can hope for, and she hopes things only get better from here on out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed!
> 
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> 
> [Follow Me on Tumblr](https://trimberlylsau.tumblr.com)

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the prologue! Next chapter should be up soon!
> 
> [Follow Me on Twitter](https://twitter.com/TrimberlyLSAU)
> 
> [Follow Me on Tumblr](https://trimberlylsau.tumblr.com)


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